book

She Has Her Mother’s Laugh by Carl Zimmer is a thorough, detailed, and fascinating book about heredity. I appreciated that Zimmer expanded heredity well beyond genes to make the important point that we inherit many things from our parents πŸ“š

Although difficult to choose, Death’s End by Cixin Liu is the best book of the trilogy. Incredibly imaginative and immense in scope with a hopeful end, despite some grim content. πŸ“š

Something Deeply Hidden by Sean Carroll is the best kind of non-fiction: engagingly written, sophisticated enough to take the audience seriously, and about a fascinating topic πŸ“š

Where to start? πŸ“š

The Stiehl Assassin by Terry Brooks is okay. Given this is the last series he plans to write, I’m curious to see where he takes the fourth book. Based on the three books so far, the plot is pretty standard for Shannara series. I’d hoped for something more dramatic.

After the original series, I think the Genesis of Shannara series is the most inventive one. πŸ“š

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is an imaginative literary romance novel wrapped in a time travel espionage plot. I really enjoyed it, though it was not at all like my usual sci-fi reading πŸ“š

Recursion by Blake Crouch is an entertaining time-travel, multiverse story. Distinct from his previous Dark Matter novel, but with the right kinds of echos πŸ“š

I enjoyed The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu. Very inventive, though definitely some grim parts, as you might expect for the second book in a trilogy. The dialogue can be a bit clunky, so the emphasis is on the science. πŸ“š

I enjoyed Borderline by Mishell Baker. A good mix of fantasy and realism with compelling characters πŸ“š

The Fall by Neal Stephenson is well worth a read. The concepts about consciousness, computer simulations, and death were fascinating, along with the usual hyper detail from Stephenson. Definitely a marathon of a read with multiple, overlapping stories within the book πŸ“š

Admittedly I didn’t have high expectations, but the First Formic War series from Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston is pretty good. Not as sophisticated as the original Ender’s War series, though well worth a vacation read πŸ“š

Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston is a promising start to the prequels for Ender’s Game. Some similarities with the Expanse series, in terms of the asteroid miners, that gives some nice realism to the story and good foreshadowing of the later books πŸ“š

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker is fascinating and concerning. I knew sleep was important, but not that it is so essential to health, memory, and learning. I’ve been falling short of my 8 hour target for a while now and am definitely motivated to reprioritize sleep again πŸ“š

Conscious by Annaka Harris is a fascinating overview of the science of this mysterious process. Her description of panpsychism was particularly intriguing πŸ“š

The Bayern Agenda by Dan Moren is a fun sci-fi espionage story. Well worth a read πŸ“š

The Red Rising sci-fi trilogy is solid, page-turning entertainment. Nothing high-concept and sometimes that’s all you want πŸ“š

The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu was a fun read. The Chinese perspective made it interesting, but the actual appeal was the good science fiction. I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.

The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene is a fascinating and clearly written tour of the many multiverse theories. Really mind bending stuff πŸ“š

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is a great book with an intriguing main character, compelling plot, and fascinating world building πŸ“š

Although I’m late to reading Michael Lewis' The Long Short, it’s hard to believe it is non-fiction. The story of the sub-prime mortgage crisis is incredible πŸ“š

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking is a fun book. Clear and concise answers to some important questions, written with Hawking’s whimsy and fully demonstrating his impressive curiosity πŸ“š

Finished reading: Wool by Hugh Howey πŸ“š

I’ve been intrigued by Stoicism for a while now and How to Be a Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci is a great introduction to the ideas and practices of the Stoics. I particularly appreciated how Pigliucci made the practice applicable to modern day issues. πŸ“š

Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark is a fascinating book on an important topic. AI’s implications for society are profound and require significant debate. This book is a start. πŸ“š

We had fun meeting the author Dav Pilkey and getting a signed copy of Dog Man. I really appreciated his patience with spending several hours talking to kids and signing books. πŸ“š

Lightbox Image